Gratuities onboard?

[Karen Lynn]

Are they still $18 pp/ per day?

 

Many thanks !

[ORV]

1 minute ago, Karen Lynn said:

Are they still $18 pp/ per day?

 

Many thanks !

Well, if you book after Oct 1st they’re included, so it really doesn’t matter what they are.🤠 If you’re already booked that’s another story. 

[Karen Lynn]

Already booked 🫨

[1985rz1]

48 minutes ago, Karen Lynn said:

Are they still $18 pp/ per day?

 

Many thanks !

Depends on your stateroom category.  Without a butler it's $18 per day per person.  With a butler (PH and above) it's $23 pd pp. Your statement from O specifies the gratuities in the fine print under "Pricing Details."  

Edited September 11 by 1985rz1

[jonthomas]

my issue is that increasingly we have been seeing that staff are not satisfied with the included gratuity...

 

because many tip over and above, it has become expected and nothing is enough...

 

something else that we have not experienced before is stories told by staff of how difficult their lives are at home...how little O pays them and the expenses...I have no doubt that some have difficult lives, but have not experienced how freely they are sharing that...

 

intially we were stunned at the stories...but then they became too similiar....the female staff all have the same story....single mothers with children and nowhere to live....overly friendly with stories etc....

 

also stories from passengers, how they take their attendants to the store, shopping, etc...no wonder they are no longer satisfied with included grats....

 

one woman in the penthouse that we had dinner with, told us how she supports her butlers family back home in India...

 

has anyone else experienced this?

[osandomir]

6 minutes ago, jonthomas said:

my issue is that increasingly we have been seeing that staff are not satisfied with the included gratuity...

 

because many tip over and above, it has become expected and nothing is enough...

 

something else that we have not experienced before is stories told by staff of how difficult their lives are at home...how little O pays them and the expenses...I have no doubt that some have difficult lives, but have not experienced how freely they are sharing that...

 

intially we were stunned at the stories...but then they became too similiar....the female staff all have the same story....single mothers with children and nowhere to live....overly friendly with stories etc....

 

also stories from passengers, how they take their attendants to the store, shopping, etc...no wonder they are no longer satisfied with included grats....

 

one woman in the penthouse that we had dinner with, told us how she supports her butlers family back home in India...

 

has anyone else experienced this?

Never experienced anything like that. And we tip above the gratuities all the time. You can do whatever you want but don’t multiple times tell others what they have not to do. 

[jonthomas]

yup, that is the reason for the expectations....

 

can always use ignore...

[Tr1v1alCru1ser]

Never experienced anything like that.  Quite the contrary, our butler and cabin stewards have always seemed genuinely surprised when we’ve tipped them extra at the end of the cruise.

[Harters]

38 minutes ago, jonthomas said:

has anyone else experienced this?

I havent but I'm unsurprised that it happens. 

 

Relatively poor crew members tell a story to relatively wealthy customers about how hard their lives are. Supported by the knowledge the  world over in the hospitality industry that many Americans like to tip at a high level at pretty much any given opportunity. 

 

I used to play on a now defunct food forum where most contributors were American. Tipping threads regularly cropped up and it took quite a while to not be surprised at the things, in general life, that Americans are likely tip for and the level at which they'd do so. I believe it's a cultural thing as much as a practical thing and it makes folk feel good about themselves that they are in a position to do so. 

Edited September 12 by Harters

[FetaCheese]

Have never had stewards or waiters tell us any hard lives back home stories.  

[Syd58]

We typically tip our cabin attendant and butler extra. In earlier times, I can recall putting money in an envelope and leaving it for the cabin attendant and butler, and tipping anyone else you wished to tip. While I understand that some would be left out if you did it this way, would it be possible to forgo paying prepaid gratuities and tip those from which you’ve received outstanding service even more? I think service would be better if they knew there wasn’t a guarantee of receiving gratuities regardless of the level of service. A concern I have is those providing outstanding service may not always be receiving the level of gratuities they deserve. I’m a big believer in pay for performance. As such, those  who derserve more gratuities as a result of their high level of service should receive more. I doubt this happening with prepaid gratuities. Plus, there’s no guarantee that all will tip extra for high levels of service. I guess it’s a moot point now that gratuities will be included.

Edited September 12 by Syd58

[Socky Sunshine]

3 hours ago, jonthomas said:

my issue is that increasingly we have been seeing that staff are not satisfied with the included gratuity...

 

because many tip over and above, it has become expected and nothing is enough...

 

something else that we have not experienced before is stories told by staff of how difficult their lives are at home...how little O pays them and the expenses...I have no doubt that some have difficult lives, but have not experienced how freely they are sharing that...

 

intially we were stunned at the stories...but then they became too similiar....the female staff all have the same story....single mothers with children and nowhere to live....overly friendly with stories etc....

 

also stories from passengers, how they take their attendants to the store, shopping, etc...no wonder they are no longer satisfied with included grats....

 

one woman in the penthouse that we had dinner with, told us how she supports her butlers family back home in India...

 

has anyone else experienced this?

Wow, we have never experienced any of that.  We hear more of the opposite, how much they love the job and all the money they can send home because they have no expenses while working.  I am really surprised you are hearing all that.  And we do talk to a lot of staff because we find it interesting and fun to hear about their lives.

[AMHuntFerry]

4 hours ago, jonthomas said:

 

 

has anyone else experienced this?

Nope

[shepherd really]

8 minutes ago, AMHuntFerry said:

Nope

me neither.

[basor]

us neither - just the opposite and been sailing O since 2007....

[clo]

6 hours ago, jonthomas said:

my issue is that increasingly we have been seeing that staff are not satisfied with the included gratuity...

 

because many tip over and above, it has become expected and nothing is enough...

 

something else that we have not experienced before is stories told by staff of how difficult their lives are at home...how little O pays them and the expenses...I have no doubt that some have difficult lives, but have not experienced how freely they are sharing that...

 

intially we were stunned at the stories...but then they became too similiar....the female staff all have the same story....single mothers with children and nowhere to live....overly friendly with stories etc....

 

also stories from passengers, how they take their attendants to the store, shopping, etc...no wonder they are no longer satisfied with included grats....

 

one woman in the penthouse that we had dinner with, told us how she supports her butlers family back home in India...

 

has anyone else experienced this?

WOW! That's incredible. From both sides. Thanks for sharing.

[njhorseman]

8 hours ago, jonthomas said:

has anyone else experienced this?

Never. Not on Oceania, nor on the 10 or 11 other cruise lines we've sailed on. 

[mantadiver]

27 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

has anyone else experienced this?

Definitely not.  My wife is from the Philippines and when we travel they probably don't need to tell us about life there.   

[njhorseman]

1 minute ago, mantadiver said:

Definitely not.  My wife is from the Philippines and when we travel they probably don't need to tell us about life there.   

I don't know what happened when you posted, but I wasn't the one who said "...has anyone else experienced this". 

[clo]

48 minutes ago, mantadiver said:

Definitely not.  My wife is from the Philippines and when we travel they probably don't need to tell us about life there.   

I really don't know what that means. With due respect.

[mantadiver]

3 minutes ago, clo said:

I really don't know what that means. With due respect.

A lot of crew members are from the Philippines, or similar developing counties.  

[pinotlover]

One of the tips a very highly respected and renowned butler gave us a few hints in helping the staff. 

1. When they come to clean your cabin , leave. If you can’t leave just then then tell the attendant to return in X minutes and be gone.

 

2.  The attendants enjoy quick brief conversations, maybe 30-45 seconds . After that leave them to their work.

 

I would say that if people are getting the “ song and dance “ experienced above ( and some definitely do); they are spending way beyond the time with staff recommended by that butler. 
 

One of his comments was about the “ lonely hearts club “ passengers that liked to corner the staff and talked incessantly. Abiding by #1 &2 above pretty well avoids the sob stories.

[clo]

1 hour ago, mantadiver said:

A lot of crew members are from the Philippines, or similar developing counties.  

Thank you but I still don't understand the point.

[Harters]

6 hours ago, pinotlover said:

2.  The attendants enjoy quick brief conversations, maybe 30-45 seconds . After that leave them to their work.

Good point worth sharing. Our guy on Vista earlier in the year always seemed ready for a few words but, on a couple of occasions, he mentioned how busy he was with the number of cabins to be looked after. We can take hints 

[jonthomas]

yes the stateroom attendants are very brief, have a lot to do, stick to what you need...we usually need nothing, not even ice...there is not much for them to do in our cabin...

 

but in the terrace cafe, some can be chatty, we experienced that, yes we keep it to a minimum...not just chatty but have seen staff spend a lot of time with cruisers, overhearing all kinds of personal info..tables are close not hard to hear...